updated 07:40 pm EST, Thu February 2, 2012

Available with either 24 month plan or no contract

Wireless carrier 3 has introduced its Web Cube 3G hotspot to the UK. The broadband router, made by Huawei, offers broadband networking to up to five Wi-Fi devices. 3 is targeting renters and students who want Wi-Fi at home without being tied to a contract or a landline.

Although the cube-shaped device complies with the HSPA+ standard for speeds up to 21.1Mbps, 3 suggests a more realistic expectation is downloads of 2-5Mbps on average with a peak rate of 10Mbps. The device has a range of up to 30 meters (98 feet).

3 is test marketing the Web Cube in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Leeds. The company has not announced when the trial will end and regular deployment will begin. The device is available through two plans. It comes priced without a contract for an up front cost of £60 ($95 USD) and a monthly cost of £15 ($24 USD) for 10GB of data. Alternatively, a 24-month plan costs £16 ($26 USD) per month without any initial cost and 15GB of data.

This is not the first locale to which 3 has made the Web Cube available. It already offers the 3G hotspot to its customers in Italy.